“We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious.”

The words of Gollum, the brilliant character created by JRR Tolkien in his 1937 novel, The Hobbit, and a significant player in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Some years back I was on holiday in Andalucia with Kate (AKA the Coeliac), her brother and his wife. John suggested that we could visit Garrucha. I replied enthusiastically by saying we could watch the fishermen unload their catch and then eat at a particular restaurant to try the famous red prawns.

"Have you been there before?" he asked.

"No," I said, "I've read about it in the guide book."

"Oh, you and your bloody guide book. You're like Guide Book Gollum...oh, the precious!" Fair enough. So thanks, John, it was the insult that spawned a website. The original site has been offline for a while but it’s revived here to enable me to share my enthusiasm for travel, post articles about places I’ve been and maybe locations that feature in my stories. From time to time I’ll also revisit some of the writing that has featured on GBG previously.

Actually, I do believe a decent guide book is precious when you’re travelling. I want to know what’s worth seeing, best places to eat, stand-out bars, the cafes that let me watch the world go by. OK, it’s not foolproof - who hasn’t walked up steep cobbled alleys for two kilometres in 35°C to discover where Gino’s Gelateria used to be before Gino went bust?

What’s GBG about?

Travel writing has always interested me. Whether they’re shorter pieces for magazines and newspaper supplements or books based on journeys, they’re great for firing the imagination and perhaps inspiring a trip or a holiday. We've also found that they're great for helping us to remember some of the happy times we've enjoyed in places that we'd otherwise have long forgotten. So GBG became a way for me to indulge that passion and it’s good to be able to continue sharing my experiences. Surely I can’t be alone? Whether you like to write about the places you visit or simply enjoy reading about travel I hope there’s something here to interest you. Feel free to share your thoughts.